𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 | 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 [MINOR EDITING]

¹⁸ ᴛᴇsᴛɪɴɢ, ᴛᴇsᴛɪɴɢ

"Should you become a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, know this: your life will belong to your squad. If it is to protect humanity, itself, you should give those very lives!"

"The results from your evaluations will determine your levels, your capabilities, and your dedication to your position, and overall, which section you will be placed in. Keep in mind that if you fail this years' entrance exam, you must wait until the following year."

I sigh. That seems like such an inconvenience, I think. However, considering how many students there are, I suppose it makes sense. Having to teach so many students all at once.

"Also, be aware that you will not be permitted to enter the Academy based on a higher social standing." The one instructor chuckles. "We save the cherry picking for later."

"The first of the examinations will begin shortly. But before they do, we'd like to share with you some valuable information concerning the Academy."

"The Shinōreijutsuin was founded nearly two thousand years ago, by Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the most powerful Soul Reaper in the history of the Soul Society. You will be taught how to control and make use of your reiatsu, as well as the four major Soul Reaper combat forms: Hakuda, Hohō, Kidō, and Zanjutsu. You will also learn how to perform Soul Burials via Konsō, how to communicate with the spirit of your Zanpakutō, and will be prepared to perform the general duties of a Soul Reaper."

"If you successfully manage to graduate from the Academy, you will then apply to join one of the three divisions: the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the Kidō Corps, or the Onmitsukidō. On occasion, those rare and highly talented Soul Reapers may be noticed and admitted to a division before completing the full curriculum. You all should strive to reach this status."

"I'm going to reach that status," I hiss to Shinji, who I could sense had started smirking the moment the instructor finished speaking.

"You think so, do you?" he says.

"Let's make a bet, then!" I say. "I bet a thousand kan I'll be the first of us out of here."

Shinji snorts. "The only way you'll be the first out is with that noble status of yours," he tells me.

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you," I say, "but I'll pass with flying colours! Just you watch, Shinji--""Silence!"

I nearly jump out of my skin at the proximity of the instructor's voice and turn on my heel.

"Jeez, there's no need to yell when you're right behind me," I grumble at him, and he audibly grinds his teeth.

"You may be royalty, but I will not stand for this flippant attitude!" he barks. "You're off to a very bad start, Kaoku."

"It's Kakaku," I correct him.

Big mistake.

-

I sigh.

They've begun the entrance exams already, but despite my being higher up in the alphabetical scale, as a result of my "flippant attitude", I've been held back to go last. And not just for my exam; if I pass, I'll be put last for everything else, too. I suppose that's not entirely a bad thing, but it sure is irritating having to wait for all the other incompetent entrants.

Each entrant, twelve at a time, are taken to separate areas of the examination room, which contains ten other smaller rooms, and tested by the twelve instructors that'd stood before us. When it is Shinji's turn, he sends me a look over his shoulder that rekindles a burning fire in my chest.

Just you wait, Hirako, I find myself thinking, my teeth clenched. Just you wait.

Eventually, it's my turn, and none too sooner. I'd grown impatient. It's just my luck that my exam instructor is the same one who'd sentenced me to an eternal last place.

When I enter the room, I'm made to stand several feet away from him, in the center of it, and behind a pedestal topped with a large glass sphere.

"State your name," he says.

"Abaron Kakaku."

"You may proceed. Place your hand on top of the sphere and produce enough spiritual energy to fill it."

Hm. There has to be a certain amount exerted? I wonder with a hum, before slapping my hand along the curve. No problem.

Finally at peace with myself, and no longer agitated by the wait time, I find it incredibly easy to summon enough reiatsu to fill the glass. However, with my being unable to control it properly, the glass shatters from having too much stored within it; the instructor had jumped when this had happened.

With a noise of amusement, the instructor dips the end of his scribe into a vial of ink and jots something down on the parchment spread across his lap.

"Your second and final test will determine the strength of your soul," the instructor says. "Utilizing your spiritual power, escape the barrier before it reaches the other end of the room. If you fail to, you fail the test."

"My spiritual power?" I repeat. "Wait, what barrier? Wh-- and that's not fair!"

The instructor snaps his fingers.

Before him appears a shimmering translucent wall that slowly begins to creep in my direction. Unsure of the direction given, I grit my teeth and do literally the only thing I know how: summon my spiritual energy to my hands and push back. Just how else am I supposed to force it back?

I extend my arms out in front of me, and press up against the barrier with all my strength. To my surprise, it is ineffective, and I find myself sliding along the floor, my geta disallowing any traction on the wooden floor.

"What?!" If I don't stop the barrier, I'll be done for!

But maybe it's more than just generating my spiritual power to just my hands. Maybe there's a way to have it spread throughout my entire body? But how do I manage that?!

"Imagine."

Imagine...?

I let the ball of energy in my hand dissipate before taking a deep breath. Just how will imagining do anything? Nevertheless, I shut my eyes. Deep within the blackness behind my eyes, I imagine the violet light of my spiritual energy surrounding me like a blanket from head to toe, completely enveloping my body.

"Hm?" I hear the instructor say. All of a sudden, the force which I'd been struggling against, it being the barrier, disappears. I barely catch it, but in my peripheral vision, I see it fade against the back wall. Somehow, I'd done it. I'd passed the test.

I'd completed the entrance exam.